We must always distinguish the path from the places that spring up alongside it. Nor is the path the same as the vehicle man constructs for traveling on it. Thus, we may uphold the legitimacy of scientific method (that is the path) and reject the materialistic dogmas of the present day Thinkers. After all, psychical research uses exactly the same method as physics. It is just as rigorous. This is also true of transpersonal psychology, UFO- logy, holistic history (Toynbee and Spengler) and a dozen other disciplines rejected by the universities. But the universities are not the path. Only the method is the path, and anyone may use it. The problem with people like Carl Sagan and Martin Gardner is just that they are not scientists. They are not on the path. They refuse to base their theories on the facts; they prefer to accept or reject facts according to their theories. In evaluating the Western path, it would be well to remember its original breadth, and strive to open it up again to that breadth. The Western path was founded by Thales of Miletus, 2500 years ago. Thales did something unique, something I've always admired. He created a path, and then stepped out of the way. He did not permit himself or his works to be turned into idols and obstacles along the way. Consider some of his principal students and followers. Pythagoras was a student of such varied topics as reincarnation, mathematics, and symbolism, and made significant advances in each study. He is one of the principal pillars of modern day mathematical science, as well as a principal pillar of symbology! Like every path, the Western path potentially includes every experience, and anything less is not the complete path. The Solar path differs from the Western path in that we look for challenge-and-response and not cause and effect. We look for wholes, and attempt synthesis, whereas the Western path breaks everything down and admires the narrow specialist and his purely technical knowledge. Like the African song of the Griot, we admire immediate experience more than abstract knowledge. Like Yoga, we emphasize the life of the Seeker, and the personal acquisition of Illumination and powers. Unlike Yoga, we do not believe in gurus. The relationship between Speaker and listener is much looser than that between Guru and disciple, much looser than the Western teacher-student relationship. Like the Tao of the Mandarin and unlike the Way of the Saints, Speakers are concerned with community, and man in his social aspects. Like the Medicine Path, the Way of the Sun is close to nature. |